New Struggles
by BBFate
Summary: The gang just want things to go back to normal after two members die, but nothing can ever really go back to normal. There's always a curveball.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Normal

 **Darry POV**

It'd been two months since we'd lost two members of the gang, one month since the trial, and three weeks since we'd had the big fight that Soda had gotten so upset about. Ponyboy wasn't doing well. He had brought his grades back up, but he was still a zombie. He was still running into things and forgetful. At this point, I was just trying to make things as normal as possible.

I was sitting at the table late one night doing some bills, when Soda came in and sat in the chair across from me.

"You have to work in the morning. Why're you up?"

He cocked an eyebrow at me, a trick he'd learned from Two-bit.

"Why're you?"

I held up the bills. He nodded.

"Your turn."

"Pony had a nightmare. He just went back to sleep."

I nodded. He ran his hands through his hair and down his face. He mumbled into his hands.

"He won't talk, Darry. He won't tell me anything..."

He paused. I took a good look at him. He looked so broken.

"We don't even know what really went on in Windrixville, or if they were even there the whole time. It's killing me, Darry! It's been killing me because it's killing him! The whole thing is haunting him. At least when mom and dad died, he came to me. He won't talk to me about this at all!"

"Have you asked him why he won't talk?"

He nodded.

"Says I don't need to know."

I thought about it for a minute. I understood both sides. I got why Pony thought we didn't need to know, but it was driving me just as crazy as it was Soda that we didn't.

"He can't keep living like this. He ain't even living, just existing."

"I know, but we can't push him. That'll only make it worse."

The next day was a Saturday, and it was raining so I couldn't work. Soda went to work that morning, looking completely miserable. It was weird seeing him like that. The only time he didn't look like that anymore was when Ponyboy was in the room.

 **Soda POV**

I didn't know why it was bothering me so much. I guess because he'd always trusted me enough to confide in me.

"Hey, Soda. Snap out of it!"

"Sorry, Steve."

He sighed.

"Kid still not talking?"

I gave him a look.

"Since when do you care about Ponyboy?"

He gave me a hard look.

"Sodapop, you're my best friend. He's your brother. I may not like the kid all that much, but I do care about him. He ain't acting right. And don't take your bad mood out on me when I'm trying to help."

My face softened.

"I'm sorry. It's just been hard."

He sighed.

"We lost them, too, Soda."

"Yeah, but he lived it. I just wanna know everything that happened."

"I know, and he lost Johnny. I don't know what it'd be like to lose your best friend... He'll eventually talk, and when he does, you know you'll be the one he talks to."

"I hope you're..."

We heard the bell ring, and saw Pony walking through the door. I put on my signature grin.

"Sup, Ponyboy?"

He gave a half smile.

"Nothing much."

Steve walked over to the big cooler.

"Wanna Pepsi?"

"Yeah."

He grabbed it from Steve and came around the counter and hopped up on a stool.

 **Darry POV**

Pony went down to the DX, which made me happy. He hadn't done that in a long time, plus it gave me some much needed time to myself. I had just been getting comfortable when someone knocked on the door. I groaned and went to answer it. A woman was standing outside.

"Can I help you?"

"Are you Darrel Curtis?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"I'm Gina Ford. I'm with the state. May I come in?"

Shit... I let her inside and she sat on the couch.

"Um, you're not our usual social worker."

She smiled.

"No, I'm not."

I started to get nervous.

"I thought everything with Ponyboy was settled."

I sat down in my recliner, bracing myself for the argument that I was a fit guardian.

"It is, I'm actually not here to talk about your brothers. Well, not Ponyboy, anyway."

"You wanna talk about Sodapop?"

"Sort of... It's kind of complicated."

"I'm sorry, I'm confused."

She smiled at me.

"It's nothing bad, I promise."

I relaxed a little.

"Then, what's this about?"

"Well, I'm sure you know that Sodapop was adopted."

I cocked my eyebrow at her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The News

 **Darry POV**

"Yeah. I know he's adopted. Why?"

"Please tell me _he_ knows that?"

I gave her a questioning look.

"Yes, ma'am. He knows."

She let out a relieved sigh and relaxed.

"Oh, good! You'd be surprised how many families never tell kids they're adopted."

"Yeah, mom and dad told him when he was little, not sure what age. But, he knows."

"That takes a little bit of weight off my chest."

"Why? What's this about? Is this about his real parents or something?"

"No. It was a closed adoption, they couldn't get in touch with you even if they tried. I'm here for another reason..."

"Okay."

I was getting confused. I was wishing she's just go ahead and tell me what she needed to tell me.

"I told you I was with the state, I am. Just, not the state of Oklahoma. I'm a social worker from the state of Arizona."

"Okay, now I'm really confused."

"I understand. You're brother's social worker knows I'm here. I asked her about you as a guardian, and she said you're a good one. By the way? Your old social worker was a complete witch."

I cracked a smile. The judge at Ponyboy's trial said we'd get a new one because our old one tried to say that this was a bad home. Mrs. Brenda was a nice woman, and we were happy with her so far.

"I'm here because... Goodness, this is hard to explain. The adoption was closed, so there's not even a record of his parents... But, it does state that he had... A twin..."

My eyes got wide.

"Don't worry, your parents were unaware. The records state that they were looking for a baby boy, and they sighed the papers for Sodapop before they even met him."

"I'm confused."

"If twins are born and put up for adoption, if one or both is pretty much adopted right away, then they won't keep them together. People don't really want to adopt twin babies, so the state doesn't say anything."

I took a breath.

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain why you're here."

"Well, I told you I'm a social worker from Arizona. I'm here about Cameron Elizabeth Mercer. She's Sodapop's twin."

She looked down.

"She was actually adopted before Sodapop. She was adopted at two weeks old, while he was adopted around a month old. I understand your parents died?"

I nodded. Even talking about our parents was painful.

"Well, her's just died last week. Her situation is very similar to your's. Her parents were only children, no living grandparents, no relatives at all. Except..."

"Except Sodapop..."

"Yes. She had no siblings... Darrel, I know it's a lot to ask, but I was hoping that... Well, that there's a possibility that you guys could taker her in..."

"Wait. You want me to be her guardian?"

"Darrel, she'll be put in a girl's home if not..."

I put my head in my hands.

"This is a lot to ask, Mrs. Ford."

"I realize that, but I had to ask. If you can't, I completely..."

"I need to talk to Soda and Pony first. I can't make that decision without them."

She looked at me surprised.

"I'll be honest, I didn't even think you'd consider it."

"Well, I know what my brothers went through when our parents died..."

"Something that I think you should know is that... Well, they were rich."

"What?"

"Yeah. And all the money was left to Cameron. So was Mr. Mercer's business. But, of course, the business is in Arizona, but if you become her guardian, I'll help you out with all of that. I'll help you sell the business."

Ponyboy walked in about that time. He saw the woman and gave me a questioning look.

"Ponyboy, this is Mrs. Ford."

"Hello, Ponyboy!"

He smiled and shook her hand. He sat on the opposite side of the couch. She looked at me.

"Well, I'd um, better get going."

She wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to me.

"Bye, Darrel. Bye Ponyboy."

She walked out the door. The paper told me what hotel she was staying at, and that I had a week to make my decision. It also said that she was sorry because it was an awkward situation.

"Who was that?"

"Hmmm?"

I looked up from the paper to see Ponyboy smirking.

"Who was that?"

"I'll explain it to you later. But she's wasn't a date or anything."

He frowned slightly.

"Well, she should be. She's pretty."

 **Soda POV**

I was so pissed that we had to work overtime. Steve had been going on and on complaining about Evie, which didn't help me at all.

On top of Ponyboy, I had to deal with the fact that Sandy'd cheated, had gotten pregnant, and left me even though I said I'd take care of her. I'd loved her that much.

"So, the kid seemed better today."

I cracked a smile.

"Hey, there's that crazy grin we haven't seen in a while!"

I rolled my eyes, but laughed.

"Shut up! Yeah, he did seem better today."

"He's still running into things, though. And he's still skinny."

"His appetite is coming back a little bit. He just says that everything tastes funny."

"You think it has something to do with when they were gone?"

"What else could it be?"

"It bothers me, too, Soda. We searched for them for days with Dally avoiding us."

I felt myself getting hot. I missed Dally and loved him like a brother, but I felt like a lot of things would've been different if he'd convinced them not to go on the run.

We were finally finished with the car that Mr. Rivers had made us work on. Steve drove me home, and I just wanted to eat and go to bed.

 **Darry POV**

"Ponyboy, set the table!"

I was nervous. I had been thinking about it all afternoon. I knew if my brothers didn't wanna do it that we wouldn't, but I felt bad for the girl.

"I'm home!"

I heard Soda throw his shoes off and he hopped into the kitchen.

"How was your day, Sodapop?"

"Pretty good. Tiring. Where's Pony?"

"In his room, would you go get him?"

He went and got him, and we ate. Well, me and Soda ate.

"Ponyboy, you've gotta eat."

He looked down at his food like it was disgusting, but did eat about half of it. I was happy with that.

"Okay, after you guys do the dishes, we need to talk."

"Awe, Come on, Darry! Can't we do it tomorrow? I had a long day, and tomorrow's my day off."

"I'm sorry, Soda, but this can't wait..."

He groaned.

After they did the dishes, they both filed into the living room and sat on the couch.

"Okay, so..."

"Hello, Curtis house!"

I growled.

"What do you want, Two-bit?"

"Oh, Darry's a little feisty tonight, isn't he?"

My bothers chuckled until I gave them a look.

"Relax, I just came to get my boots, I left them here. I think."

He looked around the house for a few minutes, then we heard him from the kitchen.

"Found them!"

"Where were they?"

"In a cabinet. See y'all later!"

He left and slammed the door. I put my fingers on my temples.

"Okay, so I need to talk to you guys about something."

"Is something wrong, Darry?"

"No, Soda."

"Does it have to do with that woman?"

"What woman?"

"Shut up! Both of you!"

They sunk back into the couch. I sighed.

"Can you let me tell you before you guys ask any questions?"

They both nodded.

"Okay. So, you guys know that Soda was adopted."

They gave each other a look.

"That's not exactly news, Darry."

"Well, this will be."

I decided to be blunt.

"You have a twin."

Both of their eyes looked like they would bust out of their heads.

"I have another brother?!"

"Uh, no. You have a sister."

He was frozen and speechless. Two things you'd never think he would be.

"Soda? You okay?"

"I have a twin sister..."

"That's not all..."

They both looked at me.

"Her parents just died and she has no family. Her social worker asked me if we'd take her in."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Decisions

 **Darry POV**

"Well, what are you gonna do, Darry?"

"It's not what I'm gonna do. It's what _we're_ gonna do. I want us to make this decision together."

Soda was still being silent.

"What happens if we don't?"

"She'll be put in a girl's home."

Soda spoke up then.

"How come mom and dad didn't tell me?"

"They didn't know Pepsi-cola. They just wanted to adopt a baby boy, and we're told by the state that they had found one. They never told them."

I sighed.

"We have a few days to think about this. I don't want you guys to feel like you have to..."

"I don't need a few days."

"Ponyboy, I really think..."

"It's okay with me."

Me and Soda both looked at him.

"What? I didn't wanna be put in a boy's home. I would never want anyone who had an option to be put in those places. I know enough kids who are in them."

"Are you sure you don't wanna think about it?"

"There's nothing to think about for me."

Soda didn't say anything. Pony finally went to bed.

"What does she look like?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen her."

"What's her name?"

"Cameron."

He nodded.

"I... I need to think about this, Darry. I don't want anyone in a home either, but..."

"I know, Sodapop. I know."

 **Soda POV**

I couldn't sleep that night. The next day, me, Steve, and Two-bit were on the front porch. I was smoking, which was something I rarely did.

"How long do you have to decide?"

"Five days..."

"Not very long."

"What would you do, Steve?"

He flicked his ashes.

"You know what I'd do. You don't even have to ask."

"You'd take her in..."

He nodded.

"I wouldn't be able to say no... But, this isn't about me, Sodapop. It's about you."

"Well, I know it's none of my business, but..."

I rolled my eyes.

"Go ahead, Two-bit."

"I know I complain about my sister all the time, but I don't know what'd I'd do without her."

Two more days went by, and I was still confused. I decided to talk to Pony went he got home from school.

"Hey, Ponyboy."

"Hey, Soda. What're you doing home?"

"I took the day off. Come here."

He sat on the couch beside me. I threw my arm around his shoulder.

"You sure you'd be okay with someone we don't know coming up in here?"

He gave me a look.

"She's your sister."

"No. You're my brother, I care about what you think."

"Sodapop, I'm fine with it. If she's anything like you, then I'll love her."

"But, what if she's not."

I got up and started pacing.

"Darry said she's grown up rich. I couldn't live with someone who thought they were better than us."

"You don't know her."

"Neither do you!"

He winced. I'd never yelled at him before.

"We'll never know unless..."

"How come you're so okay with all of this?!"

"It's not that... I'm not... I just..."

He sighed.

"I would feel too guilty if someone ended up in a home because I didn't even give them a chance."

My face softened and I sat back down.

"Okay..."

"Really?"

"Sure. Let's give it a shot."

 **Darry POV**

When I'd called Mrs. Ford, she was ecstatic. She came by with Mrs. Brenda, and we signed the papers and switched her social worker to our's.

"Okay. We'll be at the train station in two days. She's been staying in a girl's home until now. I'll go get her and we'll get her stuff. Darrel, I have a buyer for the business. The money will be your's."

"No, it'll be _our's_."

She smiled, and they both left. Pony got home from school, and later Soda came home from work. We were all eating dinner. Well, Ponyboy was picking at his.

"Well, it's done you guys..."

Soda paused. Ponyboy looked up.

"When will she get here?"

"Friday afternoon. I took off. Soda, do you have to work?"

He shook his head.

"I'm off on Friday..."

"Okay. Well, I've got my old room cleaned out and moved my stuff into mom and dad's."

"Why didn't you just clean out my room? I stay with Ponyboy."

"I know, but I never know if that'll change."

He went back to his food.

"You just didn't think I'd be okay with it. It would've been fine."

I sighed.

"Soda, if this wasn't really okay with you..."

"Darry, I'll be honest, I don't know. I don't know how I feel about it, but how can I not even give it a chance."

" _Her_ a chance."

We both looked at Ponyboy. Soda nodded.

"You're right. I need to give her a chance."

 **Pony POV**

I was trying to figure out why Soda was being this way. It wasn't like him. The night before she was suppose to come, I couldn't sleep. I kept tossing and turning.

"Pony, what're you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

He turned to face me.

"You haven't been still since you laid down."

"Well, you usually sleep through anything."

He turned on the lamp and furrowed his brow at me.

"I wake up when you have a nightmare."

"But, I always toss and turn when I can't sleep, and you never notice."

He sighed.

"What's going on with you, Ponyboy? Ever since you got back, it's like you haven't trusted me."

"It's not that, I just have a lot I'm trying to figure out. And what about you? I never would've known you to not wanna help someone."

"Running off changed you..."

"And Sandy changed you."

His eyes shot up to meet mine. I could see the pain in his eyes.

"Well, what do we do now?"

"I guess take it one day at a time."

 **Soda POV**

It was time to go to the train station. Ponyboy had just got back from school, but he wasn't going with us because there wasn't any room in the truck.

"Two-bit said he come keep you company."

He rolled his eyes.

"I don't need a babysitter, Darry."

Darry looked at me. Ever since the trial, we didn't like him staying alone.

"He's not babysitting you. He's just coming to hang out with you."

"Soda, we gotta get going."

We got in the truck and headed towards the station. It was quiet.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, Darry. I'm okay."

We got there and went to the big room where you wait for people getting off trains. My hands were sweating, and I was pretty nervous.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Meeting

 **Cam POV**

"We're almost there, Cameron!"

Mrs. Ford was way too excited about this.

"I'll get all of your big stuff put in the right place and meet you at the house."

I looked at her.

"You mean I'm not riding with you?"

"Of course not! Your riding with Darrel!"

I looked back out the window. I didn't know what to think. I was glad I wasn't staying in that awful girl's home anymore, but I was gonna be staying with strangers.

When we pulled up into the station, my heart started beating really fast. We grabbed the one suitcase I'd brought on the train, and climbed off. Walking through the station was surreal. I was about to meet the new family I'd be living with. We finally got to this big room where there were a lot of people. I was was kind of hoping we wouldn't be able to find them so I could ride with Mrs. Ford.

"There they are!"

Well, so much for hope...

 **Darry POV**

"Stop fidgeting."

"Sorry."

After being there for about 20 minutes, I saw Mrs. Ford through the crowd.

"There they are."

She walked up with a big smile on her face.

"Hi, Darrel. So nice to see you again."

"Hi, Mrs. Ford."

"And you must be Sodapop."

He nodded and gave her a half smile.

"Well, I'd like you guys to meet Cameron."

She stepped to the side to reveal Cameron. I just about fell over. She looked a lot like Sodapop. She smiled at me and held out her hand. I took it.

"Hey. I'm Darry, and this is Sodapop."

She turned to Soda and he shook her hand.

"Well, like I told you over the phone, I'll meet you guys at the house with the rest of her stuff. Cameron, be good."

She walked away. Sodapop grabbed her suitcase that she'd sat down.

"You ready to go?"

"Um... Sure. Thanks."

 **Soda POV**

I didn't know what to say. I definitely couldn't deny that we looked alike, because we did. We walked to the truck and I gestured for her to get in first. She did, and I threw her suitcase in the back. We all climbed in, and no one said anything for a few minutes.

"I like your shoes."

She smiled.

"Thanks. I love converse."

"Not many girls wear them."

She shrugged.

"I guess I really wouldn't know."

I looked at her.

"You don't have any girlfriends back home?"

"No. I actually don't have any friends at all. I lived on a farm, and I was homeschooled."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My horses are being taken to a stable on the outskirts of Tulsa. What was the name of that place?"

"Cruise Stables?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"I didn't know you had horses."

That came from Darry.

"Well, I had more, but I only kept two. The rest are being sold with the farm."

She looked sad about that.

"I kept my favorite horse, and my dad's horse."

"What's their names?"

"Mine's name is Crystal. My dad's horse name is Sport. Don't ask why, I never knew."

"I love horses."

"Sodapop..."

"It's okay, Darry. Well, you wanna help me take care of them?"

"Sure. Sounds fun."

"Well, I guess I should tell you guys that I haven't ever really been called Cameron unless I was in trouble. My mom and dad called me Cam, sometimes Cammy."

"Well, people call me both Soda and Sodapop. Same with Ponyboy."

"I hate to ask, but are those your real names?"

"Yeah, they're our real names..."

"I wish I had a unique name."

She was really nice. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Maybe...

 **Pony POV**

"She was so good looking, Pony."

"Yeah..."

I had heard Two-bit talk about some dumb blonde since he'd walked in the door. He wouldn't shut up about her.

"Hey, looks like they're home."

I jumped up and walked out on the porch to see her. My eyes about popped out of my head when I saw her, and Two-bit whistled.

"Now, _that's_ a good looking girl."

I gave him a glare, he put his hands up in surrender. I saw Soda smiling and took that as a good sign. I walked down the steps.

"Hi, I'm Ponyboy."

She smiled.

"I'm Cam."

The truck with her stuff got there not too long after, and we took the next couple of hours to get everything to her room and put up. By that night, her room was all put together. We were all sitting in the living room, and I couldn't stop looking at her. She was the girl version of Soda. She looked just like a movie star.

"Hey guys, how about we go to the Dingo to eat tonight?"

Soda piped up.

"Sounds good to me!"

Me and Cam rode in the back of the truck.

"So, Sodapop dropped out?"

"Yeah..."

I looked away.

"Hey, I didn't mean that bad. My dad never finished High School."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and he turned out just fine. He did it for you, didn't he?"

"Yeah... We struggled before our parents died, so we needed the money."

I wanted to change the subject. It still bugged me that he'd done that.

"How do you like Tulsa so far?"

"Well, I haven't seen much of it yet. Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I've never been to the movies, you think we could go soon?"

"You've never been to the movies?"

"No. We had a TV, but I've never been to the movies. I've always wanted to go."

"Sure, we'll go real soon."

 **Cam POV**

I was glad we were all getting along. All three of them were really sweet boys, and I could definitely work with that. We picked a booth, and Darry and Pony sat on one side, and me and Soda on the other. We ordered our food and were getting to know each other, when a boy walked up to us.

"Curtis."

Darry spoke up.

"Hey, Tim."

"And, who's this?"

Everyone went silent. No one knew what to say. Soda cleared his throat.

"Um, this is my sister, Cam."

"I didn't know y'all had a sister. When'd that happen?"

"I was adopted, Tim."

"Oh. Well, I'll see y'all later."

We all sat there silent for a minute. Soda looked at me.

"If anyone asks, just say that."

I nodded. I guess none of us had thought about the fact that it would come up. Later that night, Two-bit and another boy came over.

"I'm Steve, Soda's best friend."

"And his dumbest friend..."

He whacked Pony on the side of the head and they started wrestling. Darry came in from the kitchen.

"Alright you two, knock it off!"

They both grunted, untangled, and got up. Pony say next to me.

"So, what do you want to do on your first Saturday in Tulsa?"

"Well, I kind of wanted to go see my horses."

Soda looked up.

"I have to work until 2:00. We can go, then. Okay, Darry?"

"Sure. I don't have to work."

"Well, you wanna go to the movies in the morning then?"

"Sure!"

Pony smiled and looked at Two-bit.

"You wanna come?"

"Sure, why not?"

I looked around at all of the boys. It'd always just been me and my parents. I liked having a lot of people around me. It was nice.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Common Ground

 **Pony POV**

Two-bit ended up being too hungover to go to the movies at 10:00 in the morning, but Cam seemed to enjoy it. I didn't hear a word from her. While walking home, she was really quiet.

"Did you like the movie?"

"Oh, I loved it, Ponyboy. Watching a movie on the tv is nothing like watching in a movie house."

I smiled. She didn't even move during it.

"I love movies, I have since I was little. My mom used to get on to me for watching them all the time."

Her face turned sad at the mention of her mom.

"What was she like?"

"She was great..."

"And...?"

"I... I kind of don't wanna talk about it right now..."

I frowned. She noticed.

"I just... It just happened, and I don't really know you guys that well yet. I've only been here a day..."

She had a point. I nodded.

"But, you can tell me about your parents if you want. I don't mind that a bit."

I thought about it for a second. We didn't talk about our parents at home, and I couldn't stand that.

"Well, Darry's the spitting image of my dad, but he doesn't act like him. Soda acts _just_ like him."

"And how is that?"

"Sodapop's happy go lucky. He's a goofball. He's the perfect mixture of mom and dad."

She smiled at that.

"What about you?"

"Well, I'm actually not really like either of them. I'm quiet. I don't talk much."

"Could've fooled me."

"Huh?"

She chuckled.

"You've talked to me the most out of everyone."

I thought about that. It was true.

"We call our little group a gang. We're like brothers."

"Anyone else in your gang?"

I stopped dead in my tracks. She turned to look at me.

"Ponyboy, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm... I'm okay... I need to show you something."

She nodded. I didn't know why I felt so comfortable with her. I think it was because she was Soda's sister, and since I couldn't talk to him, I could talk to her. I took her to the graveyard. Dally and Johnny were buried right next to each other with no headstones, but I knew where they were.

"These are recent, aren't they?"

I nodded.

"That one's Johnny Cade, and that one's Dallas Winston. They were the other two in our gang. They died almost three months ago..."

I was expecting the questions that I didn't wanna answer about how they died. Instead, she just nodded and walked closer.

"What were they like?"

"Well, I didn't care for Dallas. He was... A character, that's for sure. The only thing he ever loved was Johnny since he was the pet of the gang."

She nodded again. I got closer, too, where I was right next to her.

"And Johnny was... Johnny was my best friend... The only person I could really talk to besides Sodapop..."

Again, I expected the questions that I wasn't ready to answer. I didn't get questions, though. I felt her arms go around me. I broke right then and started bawling. She never said a word. She was just there for me. It was like she knew that saying nothing was the right thing to do.

 **Cam POV**

We went back to the house, and watched some tv. I felt bad for Pony. The only thing I knew to do was hug him. I only talked when I was ready, and I was starting to see that he was like that, too. I got bored with watching tv and went out on the porch. Pony joined me and lit a cigarette.

"Can I have one?"

"You smoke?"

"Yeah. My parents didn't know, but they both smoked, so I'd kind of picked it up."

He handed me one and a lighter. I hadn't smoked in a couple of weeks, and it was definitely making me feel better. Around 2:30, Soda got home and we headed for the stables.

 **Soda POV**

"Do you know where they are?"

"Yeah, I used to work there. Got really close with a horse named Mickey Mouse. Some guy owned him, but he was my horse. Would come when I called and everything. He was mean to everyone else."

"Sport's like that. That horse never liked me, and I sure don't like him."

That confused me.

"Then why'd you keep him? You said y'all had more horses."

She looked down.

"He was my dad's... I wouldn't trust anyone else to take care of him."

When we got there, the owner told us that they had settled in nicely, and that we could ride them through the trails whenever we wanted. When we opened the stalls, Sport walked right up to me and Crystal to Cam. You could tell that was her horse. She looked at me funny.

"Well, I'll be damned. I've never seen that horse go to someone except my dad."

I grinned. Sport was a real fine horse, and I could tell we'd be buddies.

"I guess you're a horse whisperer."

We sattled them up and went riding. We ran for a long time, but finally started just walking.

"Crystal's fast."

"She's the fastest horse I've ever had."

"How many horses have you had?"

"Well, only three have ever been officially mine, but we had twelve. I liked them all, except for old Sport here."

I chuckled and patted him on the neck.

"He's a good horse."

She snorted.

"Yeah, you wouldn't think that if he was mean to you. That horse has bitten me more times than I can count."

I laughed again.

"Well, I guess one thing we have in common is our love for horses."

"A good step in the right direction, I'd say."

We took the horses back, and put them in their stalls.

"Bye, Sport. See you next time we come. I love your horses."

"Crystal's my only horse. I think it's been said loud and clear that Sport's your's."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I am."

 **Cam POV**

The weekend had went by too fast. I'd never been to school before, and I was nervous. I smoked three cigarettes in a row, which only made me feel sicker.

We got to the school, and Darry got me registered. I was a sophomore, and in advanced classes.

"I'm off. You gonna be okay?"

I nodded, even though I wasn't sure.

"Two-bit will drive you home. Ponyboy has track practice, so he'll be home around 5:00. You'll be fine."

He gave me a hug, and I was off. My classes weren't so bad, and I felt relieved when I was at my locker and Two-bit came up to me.

"How's your first day going?"

"It's going."

"Well, we eat lunch at this store down the road. We meet at Steve's truck."

"Great, I'll be there."

In my next class, a boy that had been in several of my classes approached me.

"Why was that _greaser_ talking to you in the hall?"

"That what?"

"Greaser. You're new, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay away from greasers. They're hoods and no good. Stick with Socs."

I was really confused.

"Thanks for the tidbit."

"Anytime."

I met Two-bit, Steve, and Ponyboy at Steve's truck and we went to the store. We were sitting on the bed of Steve's truck.

"So, what's a greaser?"

Steve cocked an eyebrow at me.

"The poor kids. The Socs are the rich kids."

They went on to explain to me everything about both sides. It aggravated me. I grew up with money, but I never thought I was better than anyone. Granted, I didn't go to school or anything, but my parents would've skinned me if I'd been mean to anyone because they didn't have money or had grease in their hair. A car pulled up while we were eating our candy bars and bags of chips. A group of guys got out, one of them being the kid that had talked to me in class.

"What do you want, Danny?"

"I wanna talk to her."

Steve hopped out of the truck.

"What about?"

"None of your business."

"It's sure as hell is my..."

"It's okay, Steve. I'll talk to him."

"Cam, I don't think you should."

"I'm not leaving the parking lot. I promise."

He nodded. Two-bit spoke up.

"We'll be watching."

I walked over to the other side of the parking lot with Danny.

"I thought I told you to stay away from them."

"And I said thanks for the tidbit. I didn't say I would."

"Look, they're bad news."

I started to put more pieces of the puzzle together. Even though I wasn't wearing a dress like a lot of the Soc girls, I was still wearing name brand clothes.

"They're not bad news. They're my friends."

"Look, you don't know how it is around here. You don't..."

"I guess I'm a greaser, too."

He gave me a look.

"Do you know Sodapop?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, well that's my twin brother. I live with them. On _that_ side of town."

"So, you're their sister?"

"No. I'm Soda's sister. He was adopted. Look, are we done here?"

"Wait, then why are you...?"

I groaned and walked away. He walked back to his car, looking dumbstruck.

After school, I met Two-bit at his car and he took me home. He invited himself in, which was fine with me. Only one weekend in Tulsa, and I realized him and Steve practically lived there, too.

"So, what'd old Danny want?"

I explained to him what happened.

"He assumed you were a Soc, huh?"

"Yeah... So, what am I?"

"What do you mean?"

"Am I a greaser girl?"

He shook his head.

"No, you're a _nice_ girl. That's all you need to be."

I nodded. I had seen some grease girls, and they were kind of scary.

After a week of living in Tulsa, I was really starting to like it alright. I got along with the boys good, and I actually liked school. Everything was going really great. That Saturday, I was walking through the hall when Two-bit jumped out and scared me. I didn't mean to, but I started wheezing really bad. Soda and Pony were by me in a second when Two-bit yelled for help.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?"

I pointed to my room.

"Top drawer... Inhaler..."

Pony ran to my room and brought back my inhaler. I took a couple of puffs from it and could breath again. Once I could, I realized everyone was staring at me.

 **Darry POV**

When I got home, the boys told me what happened. I was lecturing her.

"Cameron, why didn't you tell us you have asthma?"

She winced at the sound of her full name.

"I didn't think it was a big deal... I don't really have asthma attacks anymore."

"Really? Cause you just had one!"

"I haven't had one in months, Darry! Honest!"

I sighed and sat in my chair.

"Any other medical problems we should know about?"

She shook her head.

"Alright, go to bed. We'll talk about this more later."

She sulked to her room. Ponyboy went to bed not long after her. Soda was still in the living room.

"It was kind of scary."

"I'm sure it was."

"I just didn't know what was wrong with her."

"She's fine. It's asthma."

He nodded and went to bed. I followed soon after. We'd all had a pretty long day, and I doubt that any of us even moved that night once our heads hit our pillows.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Trust

 **Pony POV**

It'd been a month since Cam had moved in, and we were all used to each other by now. It was April, and I was doing a lot of track. On this day, Two-bit had ditched, so Cam had stayed at practice because Darry didn't want her walking home alone.

Practice ran late that day, and the coach had really worked us. I was exhausted when I walked out of the locker room.

"You look like shit."

"Such a nasty word for a lady to say."

She rolled her eyes and got up. She'd been sitting in the grass next to the school.

"Shut up! My dad cussed like a sailor."

We walked home just talking about nothing. It was kind of surprising how easy it'd been when she moved here. Soda had been worried that she'd think she was better than us, and she never acted like that.

 **Soda POV**

"I'm home!"

Darry came out of the kitchen.

"Hey, how was work?"

"Good. It was a slow day."

I noticed no one else was around.

"Where's Pony and Cam?"

"She's in her room, and he's sleeping. Said the coach really worked them today. He was exhausted."

Cam walked out of the hallway.

"Hey."

"Hey, you look tired."

She shrugged.

"Um... Darry, I need to ask you something."

He sat in his recliner.

"Okay. Shoot."

"Some friends from school asked me to hang out tomorrow. It's Saturday, so I was wondering if that was okay."

"Who are they?"

She looked down.

"Kara, Lesley, Davis, Mikey, Ryan, and Curly..."

We both tensed.

"Some of the boys you mentioned are in the Shepherd gang..."

"I know, but we're just having a bonfire..."

I could tell that Darry didn't know what to do. She had only hung out with the five of us, she hadn't been with anyone else.

"I don't trust them..."

She sighed.

"Darry, you know I'd come home if I needed to... Please?"

"Fine, but I want you home by 10:00."

"I thought you let us stay out till midnight on the weekends."

"That's if you're with one of the gang."

She sighed again.

"Okay. I'll be home by 10:00."

She walked back to her room.

"Why'd you agree to that?"

"Because she has a right to have other friends. Pony hangs out with Curly sometimes and comes home if he senses trouble, I think she'd do the same."

I didn't like it. I knew I had to do something.

 **Cam POV**

The next day, I hung out with my friends. We went to the pond and hung around town. That night, we were having a bonfire in Curly's back yard.

"So, you like Tulsa so far?"

"Yeah, I do. I've never lived in the city, so..."

"How do you like living in the Curtis house?"

I smiled.

"I like it a lot, Mikey. It was always just me and my parents. It's good to be around kids my age."

"Like me?"

He scooted closer to me and I could feel myself blushing. He chuckled. I'd gotten really close to Mikey. It killed me that he was in the Shepherd gang.

"No, you're bad news."

He put his hands on his chest in mock hurt.

"Ouch!"

I laughed and he put his arm around me. Everything had been going great, until we heard someone yell ow from the bushes. Curly went over to investigate, and pulled out the culprit from the bushes. My eyes went wide.

"Ponyboy?!"

 **Soda POV**

I'd told Steve and Pony about Cam's plans the next morning. They both looked at each other. Pony spoke up.

"And...?"

"I want us to follow her."

Steve rolled his eyes.

"You're not really doing the whole 'big brother watching over my shoulder' thing, are you?"

"I wouldn't if it wasn't the Shepherd gang."

Pony scoffed.

"This is stupid. She'll be fine."

I glared at them.

"We're doing it."

We followed them to the pond and around town.

"Soda, they haven't done anything but hang out. This is getting ridiculous. We should just go..."

"We can't. I don't trust them, Steve."

"You don't have to. Tim doesn't mess with girls on this side of town and he doesn't let his gang. If she wanted to go home, they'd take her home."

"Shut up!"

We finally ended at Tim's house. They were having a bonfire, and we were watching from the bushes in their backyard. Pony whispered to us.

"This is the stupidest thing I've ever done! Darry's gonna wonder why all of us are gone when Cam's the only one who said she was going anywhere. We need to leave."

I ignored him. That's when I saw her and Mikey talking real close. Then, I saw him out his arm around her, and my blood boiled. I whispered.

"That bastard!"

"Ow!"

I'd accidentally hit Ponyboy. Curly came over and pulled him out of the bushes.

"Ponyboy?!"

She walked over to him. Curly was standing there shocked.

"What are you doing here, Curtis? Come to join the party?"

I thought Pony would cover for me and say he was.

"I'm here because Sodapop's stupid."

I groaned and Steve and I stood up.

"Thanks a lot, Pone."

"What're you guys doing here?"

The group of friends she'd been with were all staring at us. Curly went back to the fire to watch with everyone else. I walked towards her.

"I can explain..."

"Explain what? That you were spying on me? Thanks a lot, you guys!"

She turned to the group.

"I think I need to go. I'll see you guys later."

Curly nodded.

"We're all going to the drag race at The Wood tomorrow. Meet here at 5:00 if you wanna go."

"Will do."

Mikey walked over.

"I had fun."

She smiled.

"Me, too."

I grabbed her arm.

"We need to go."

She yanked her arm away, told Mikey bye, and started heading home. They didn't live too far from us, but she was ahead of us the whole way. When we all walked through the door, Darry looked at the clock.

"It's only 8:30. I thought you'd still be out."

"I would be if it wasn't for them!"

She pointed to us. She told Darry everything that had happened.

"Please tell me you didn't put them up to it?"

He shook his head and glared at us. Ponyboy spoke up.

"It was Sodapop, and he didn't give us an option!"

I groaned.

"Again, thanks a lot!"

Cam glared at me.

"You're a jackass!"

"I didn't want you getting in any trouble with them!"

She crossed her arms.

"Okay, tell me one thing that we did today that was trouble?"

I scoffed.

"Mikey and you were getting pretty close at the fire."

She glared.

"And what's wrong with that?"

"You don't need to be dating anyone!"

Steve snorted.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black."

"Shut up!"

"Okay! That's enough!"

We all looked at Darry. He had stood up by now.

"Cam, have you eaten tonight?"

She shook her head.

"Steve, Pony, take her to The Dingo to eat."

No one argued and he gave them some money. Once he heard them pull out the driveway, he looked at me. I rolled my eyes.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me what was going through your head."

"You're the one that let her go out with them!"

He rolled his eyes.

"Only three of them are in Shepherds gang, and the others were just greasers."

"Yeah, I'm sure you would've liked seeing Mikey Kingsley's arm around her..."

He sighed and ran his hands down his face.

"Sodapop, you can't do this. I know that she's your sister, but she's literally the exact same age as you. You've got to trust her. If she makes a mistake, she'll get punished for it."

I grunted.

"I hate to do this, but you're grounded."

I stumbled back in shock.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. The only place you can go for a week is work, and I will call and get your schedule."

He'd never grounded me before.

"You... You can't do that!"

"I'm your guardian, so I can."

I stalked off to my room. I couldn't believe that I'd just been grounded.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Understanding

 **Soda POV**

My week of grounding started out awful. I realized just how stubborn girls could the next day.

"Hey."

She ignored me. It was even worse when I remembered that her and Pony were on Spring Break, so they'd be home a lot. Or so I thought...

She'd been hanging out with her group of friends a lot. She hung out with Pony and Two-bit, too, but she was still hanging out with those kids. She didn't talk to me for three days.

On Wednesday, someone knocked on mine and Pony's door.

"Yeah?"

The door opened and I looked up.

"Since you're off, you wanna go to the stables?"

I was kind of taken aback, but I remembered when my mom would get mad at dad. It'd take her a couple of days, but she'd get over it.

"Sure."

We took Two-bit's car, without permission, and went to see our horses. I hadn't seen Sport in a week, so I was happy. The car ride was quiet. When we saddled them and went riding. She finally spoke.

"So, how's work going?"

"Uh, you're asking me about work?"

She shrugged.

"Seemed like a good conversation starter."

I chuckled.

"I'm sorry for what I did."

She smiled.

"I am, too. I'm not used to people being overprotective. My parents didn't have to be because I was always at home."

"What was that like?"

"I didn't know any different, but now that I'm here... I don't know, it's almost not like I remember."

"What do you mean?"

"I look back and feel lonely now, but I didn't when I was living it. It was just life. Me and my parents. I never even knew I was adopted."

I stopped Sport and she turned Crystal around to face me.

"What?!"

"Yeah..."

"Why didn't they tell you?!"

She shook her head.

"I don't know, I guess they thought I'd look at them differently. Like, I wouldn't look at them as my mom and dad or something..."

"I didn't know about you, but I did know I was adopted. I couldn't imagine..."

"It's okay. I'm used to it, now."

We got back to walking.

"I like having friends. Like I said, I never knew what loneliness was, so at the time I didn't feel it. It's almost like even though I have friends now, I feel lonely for my old self."

"Yeah, I don't know what I'd do without mine."

"Our's..."

I looked guilty. My friends were her friends. She sighed.

"Soda, you guys and Two-bit and Steve are my... Well, you're the ones that I'm closest to. Just because I'm hanging out with other people, doesn't mean that I like them more."

"It's not that... I just..."

"When we hang out, they're not doing anything wrong. If they did, I'd leave."

"I'm glad to know that."

"Yeah. I couldn't..."

All of the sudden, Crystal reared up.

"Cam!"

I flew off of Sport. Cam was lying there breathing really hard. She pulled out her inhaler from her pocket and took a couple of puffs while I held her up.

"I'm okay."

I looked around. Crystal was beside Cam. She chuckled and touched her nose.

"I'm okay, Crystal."

She looked at me.

"Something must've spooked her."

I nodded.

"Does anything hurt?"

"My wrist, but it mostly just knocked the breathe out of me."

I examined it.

"Hmmm. Doesn't look broken, but it's probably sprained."

She shrugged.

"Not the first time. I've fell off of horses all my life."

I helped her up.

"What was your worst?"

"Fractured my ankle."

I told her about my worst one that I'd gotten when I used to ride in rodeos. We got back on the horses and went back to the stables and put them in their stalls. When we got back to the house, Two-bit greeted us with a scowl. I smirked.

"Sup?"

He growled and tackled me. He got a few good punches in, but so did I. It finally stopped when Cam got in between us. She looked at him.

"Feel better you big baby?"

He glared at her, but no one could stay mad at Cam. He finally smirked.

"Yeah. I feel better."

We shook hands. Not the healthiest way to let off steam, but it worked for us.

 **Cam POV**

We all three walked into the house. Ponyboy was laughing. He'd seen the fight from the window.

"Have fun at the stables?"

"That's where you went?"

I nodded.

"I'm surprised my car made it that far without breaking down."

I started laughing really hard and Soda glared.

"It did! I had push start that thing four times!"

Two-bit started laughing. Soda rolled his eyes and walked out of the room, walking back with the first aid kit. Two-bit cocked an eyebrow.

"I know I didn't hurt you that bad!"

"It's for her."

Pony looked at me concerned.

"What happened?"

"I'm fine. My horse got spooked and reared up making me fall off."

"She's just got a sprained wrist."

He got out some bandages and wrapped it up.

"You need to keep it wrapped for about a week."

"How do you know what to do?"

The three boys grinned. Pony sat next to me.

"We have to patch up all the time from fights. I think we're about as good as doctors."

"Yeah, Steve and Darry can even stitch you up. They learned it from Dally."

I stared at them widened.

"How do you do that without numbing it?"

Two-bit grinned.

"Why, you get liquored up, my dear friend!"

Soda laughed.

"It's the only time Darry would ever let us get trashed. It's only happened twice though. The first time was Steve, and the second time was Two-bit. Dally taught Darry with Steve and taught Steve with Two-bit."

"Okay, okay. I get the picture."

Soda laughed again.

"We only go to the hospital if we have to. The doctors and nurses ask too many questions. Then, the state's on our asses."

I nodded. The rest of Spring Break went by without a hitch. On Monday, I was in my second class of the day when I was called to the counselor's office. I trudged my way down there and walked in the door. A man stood up and smiled at me.

"Hi, I'm Mr. Turner."

"Hi."

I sat down in the chair in front of his desk. He frowned at me.

"What happened?"

I looked down at my wrist.

"Oh, I fell off my horse last week."

"Oh, did your doctor say what was wrong?"

"Uh, no my brother did. It's just sprained."

"Why didn't they take you to the doctor? I mean, you fell of a horse."

I looked at him confused.

"I didn't fall off _a_ horse, I feel off _my_ horse. And I was fine. He did the same thing my dad used to do. I've fell off of horses all my life."

He straightened up and opened a folder.

"Okay, well, I just wanna ask you a few questions."

"Okay."

"How're you doing? With your parents death?"

I froze. I talked about them, but not about their death.

"I'm doing okay."

"Mhm... And how are you liking where you live?"

He gave me a pointed look that I didn't quite understand.

"I like living there."

"You know you can be honest with me."

I looked at him confused again.

"I am being honest. I was homeschooled and only ever lived with my parents. I love being around people my own age, and I'm really glad I'm getting to know my brother."

"Yes, I understand that, but don't you think your _parents_ would want you to be living with people who could be like parents to you?"

I glared at him.

"Does my social worker know you're talking to me? Because I've already went through all of this."

"No, I was going to contact her today. Listen, we just want what's best..."

"Stop. You don't know what's best for me, and you don't know me. And don't you _dare_ use my parents against me! They'd want me to be with people who care about me, and I am."

He looked taken aback.

"But, don't you think..."

I stood up.

"We're done here."

Two days later, I was called in there again. Mr. Wright, the principal, Mrs. Brenda, and Mr. Turner were all standing there. The principal spoke up.

"We've been talking about you."

I got a little worried. I think Mrs. Brenda could see it because she winked at me. That made me relax a little bit.

"I believe that Mr. Turner has something he wants to say to you."

"I'm sorry, Cameron. I should have never talked to you without talking to your social worker first. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

The rest of the conversation was just awkward, and I was glad when Brenda took me out in the hall.

"I guess he called you."

"Yeah. With a bunch of 'concerns'. He thought a lot of things about Ponyboy because he listened to the rumors that kids were spreading instead of finding out the truth."

"What about Ponyboy?"

"About the murder."

My eyes got wide.

"You didn't know about it?"

I shook my head. She frowned.

"I've screwed up big time."

I went through the rest of the day in a daze. Did he murder someone? Did he witness a murder? Did something happen to him? I walked home alone that day. I wasn't thinking. Two-bit barreled his way through the door about thirty minutes after I got home.

"Glory, kid! You were suppose to meet me after school!"

"How come I heard about a murder today?"

He looked confused.

"What murder? Who killed someone?"

"No, the counselor was worried about me living here because of Ponyboy and a murder. What murder?"

His face paled.

"They haven't told you about all that yet?"

Slowly, I said...

"No. Two-bit..."

He shook his head.

"I can't tell you about that, Cam. That's something you need to ask them about. What'd the counselor say?"

"Mrs. Brenda said she told him the whole story and he apologized."

I guess he could tell by my expression that I didn't like the fact I hadn't been told.

"Listen, it's not what you think..."

"I don't think bad about Ponyboy, I just think _someone_ shoulda told me."

Around 5:30, he walked through the door. Two-bit had decided to stick around.

"Hey, guys."

"You're in trouble."

He looked at Two-bit funny.

"Why? What'd I do?"

I stood up.

"What's all this about a murder?"

 **Author's note: I know there's not a lot of drama, yet, but there will be soon! Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Answers

 **Pony POV**

I'd just gotten home from track practice. I was exhausted, but managed a 'hey' when I walked in.

"You're in trouble."

I was confused. I hadn't done anything that I could think of.

"Why? What'd I do?"

I saw Cam stand up, and she looked mad.

"What's all this about a murder?"

I felt all the color drain from my face. Since her coming in had been a distraction, I hadn't thought much about it.

"I..."

"Well?!"

"I think I'm gonna be sick..."

I ran to the bathroom. I had an overwhelmingly nasty taste in my mouth, which tasted a lot like bologna. I emptied the contents of my stomach. As I was still dry heaving, I felt a hand on my back doing circles. I assumed it was Two-bit.

"I don't know how I'm suppose to talk about this again..."

"I'm sorry..."

I pushed myself away from the toilet a little startled and sat against the tub. She sighed, flushed the toilet, and grabbed washcloth and wet it. She gave it to me and I wiped my face. I had broken out into a sweat. She sat next to me.

"Listen, whatever you've heard, it's not..."

"I haven't heard anything..."

"Then... How?"

"All I know is that the counselor wanted to take me away because of some rumors about you, but Mrs. Brenda told him the real story. All I know is that it has something to do with a murder..."

I sighed. She stood up and helped me up.

"I'm sorry... I just... I couldn't believe no one had told me anything about a murder."

"Darry and Soda don't even know the whole story."

She looked at me surprised.

"Why haven't you told them?"

"If they knew the whole truth... About everything I went through... They'd... They'd be even more upset than they already are."

"At you?"

I shook my head.

"No, the Socs..."

"Oh..."

A thought occurred to me. I grabbed her arm, and yelled at Two-bit that we'd be back later. I dragged her to the park, and went to where the fountain used to be. They'd removed it since then.

"It's a long story... You sure you wanna hear it?"

"Ponyboy, if you don't wanna tell anybody..."

"I do, it's _killing_ me. I just didn't wanna tell any of them..."

I sat down, and she sat down beside me.

"It started the day I first got jumped. So far, it's been the only time I ever have been..."

It took about two hours to tell her everything. I told her about the drive in, Darry, Johnny, the fountain, the murder, finding Dally, Windrixville... I told her everything. She never interrupted, not once. I finally finished with her coming and distracting me from holding everything in. She didn't say anything for a while.

"No wonder you have nightmares... You remember them, too, don't you."

It was a statement. I nodded. I didn't remember the dreams I'd had after mom and dad died, but I did remember the dreams I'd had ever since that whole mess had happened.

"Rumors still going around in school?"

I shook my head.

"I thought it'd died down."

She looked guilty. Like she was hiding something.

"Something _you_ wanna tell me?"

"If the rumors have stopped, then I think I know who told the counselor that you're the one who killed Bob."

"Who?"

"Danny..."

 **Cam POV**

I honestly felt drained after he'd told me what had happened. If I felt drained just from hearing it, I wondered how he felt living it. The next day at school, I decided to confront Danny. I walked up to him after school and tapped him on the shoulder.

"I need to talk to you."

He nodded and we walked away from his friends.

"I know it was you who talked to the counselor."

"And?"

"Why'd you do that?"

"He killed Bob. He should be in jail, not walking the halls, let alone living with you."

I glared.

"Okay, buddy. I want you to stop hitting on me everyday. Leave me alone. And you know he didn't kill Bob."

"That Johnny kid dying helped him because he could blame it on him. How do you know he didn't do it? Were you there?"

"No, but I was."

We both turned to see a guy I'd never seen before. He stuck his hand out and I took it.

"I'm Randy."

"Cam."

He turned to Danny.

"You, and everybody else knows that Johnny killed Bob. And you know it was because Bob was drowning Ponyboy."

"He's a greaser. He should've died instead of Bob."

I felt myself getting hot, and I don't even know what happened next, but Danny was on the ground holding his nose, and my wrist felt like it was on fire.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about Ponyboy like that again! He'd never kill someone unless it was self defense, and you _know_ that Bob wasn't drowning him out of self defense!"

Randy pulled me in another direction.

"What're you doing?!"

"Just come on!"

I stayed quiet. He pulled me around to the back of the school where Ponyboy was talking to some friends. He saw us and looked very confused. He started to say something, but Randy cut him off.

"Get her outta here before she gets in trouble! Now!"

He nodded, grabbed me, and ran me to Two-bit's car, who was waiting for us anyways.

"Howdy!"

Pony shoved me in and told Two-bit to hurry up. He did. Pony turned to look at me.

"What the hell happened?"

"I... I think I punched him..."

He cocked an eyebrow.

"You _think_ you punched him? And who's him?"

"I don't... I just..."

"She must've blacked out."

That came from Two-bit. Pony sighed.

"Go by the DX."

We pulled up to the DX, and Pony ran inside. After a minute or so, he walked out and got back in.

"Soda's getting off early."

I groaned.

"Why?"

"Cause he needs to."

I crossed my arms and pouted. About twenty minutes after we got home, Soda and Steve walked in.

"Hey."

No one said anything. He looked around.

"Okay, so who's gonna tell me what happened?"

Pony looked at me.

"We don't know what happened. Randy dragged her to me and told me to get her outta there before she got in trouble."

I glared. Soda looked at me.

"You hurt your wrist again?"

I looked down. I didn't even realize I'd been holding it.

"Let me see."

He started moving it around, and I pulled in a sharp breathe.

"You sprained it again, only this time it's worse."

Two-bit spoke up.

"You must have hit that kid hard."

Soda's eyes guy wide.

"You hit somebody?!"

I didn't say anything. He groaned and went and got the first aid kit.

"Wait, Soda."

Steve looked at my wrist and moved it around. It hurt so bad.

"It's not broken, but this sprain needs a brace, not just be wrapped. I have one, I'll go get it."

Soda started wrapping it and Steve brought a brace from his house. For two hours, we all argued because I didn't wanna tell them what happened. By the time Darry got home, I'd had about all I could take.

"Cameron, what the _hell_ happened?!"

I was shocked that Darry had yelled at me, that I snapped.

"SOMEONE SAID THAT PONY DESERVED TO BE DROWNED AND DIE JUST BECAUSE HE WAS A GREASER! ARE YOU FREAKING HAPPY NOW?!"

Everyone was staring at me wide eyed and I ran out of the house. I ran for a while until I finally had to stop. I had no idea where I was but I collapsed down on a curb. A while later, a truck pulled up and someone got out.

"What're you doing out this way?"

I looked up.

"Mikey?"

He helped me up.

"Everybody's looking for you. Your gang has our outfit helping. You're almost in Soc territory, how'd you get all the way over here?"

"I ran..."

He whistled.

"Impressive."

I didn't feel impressive. I wasn't a runner, and my legs were burning while feeling like jello.

"Come on, let's get you home. What happened to your wrist?"

I told him what happened on the way. Except I left out Danny's name. We all went to school with him, I didn't want anyone I hung out with to get involved.

"I don't blame you for that. I remember when that happened. Pony boy went through a lot."

When we got there, he walked me inside. The only one that was home was Steve.

"Jesus, Cam! Where have you been?!"

"She was out by the old mill."

"That's about ten miles from here, how'd you get there?"

"She ran."

I sat on the couch, groaning as my knees bent.

"Thanks for helping us, Mikey."

"No problem. I'll drive around and tell anybody I see that she's home."

He left and Steve was staring at me.

"How do your legs feel right about now?"

"Shut up... What time is it?"

"About 2:30 am..."

He laughed, but sat next to me and got serious.

"Someone really say that about Pony?"

"You think I'd punch someone for the hell of it?"

"I would."

He grinned at me. I couldn't help but grin back.

"My legs feel like they're on fire."

"Go take a bath. That'll make them feel better."

I nodded. I decided I would stay in there as long as I could. I knew I'd be in trouble once Darry got home, and I wasn't necessarily looking forward to that.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Sore

 **Soda POV**

We'd been driving around for two hours looking for her. Darry was pissed.

"She's gonna be in so much trouble when we find her!"

Pony hadn't said anything since she told us why she'd hit someone. I was looking out the window when he tapped me on the shoulder.

"You okay, Soda?"

"I didn't know she could get so mad that she'd punch some kid's lights out."

He arched an eyebrow.

"You pummeled the guy who gave me a concussion."

We both smiled. Even Darry cracked a grin.

"Yeah, but he really hurt you. This guy was just talking smack."

Pony sighed.

"No. He did more than that. He's been hassling her since the day she started school."

"What're you talking about? She didn't tell us who she hit."

"I think I know who it was. He tried to get her taken away from us by telling the counselor she was living with Bob's murderer."

Darry growled.

"How come I didn't hear about this?"

"Because Mrs. Brenda set him straight."

"Who's the kid?"

"Danny Young."

I groaned.

"He was one of Bob's best friends."

"He's been hitting on her everyday. I think it's just to mess with her, but he's got his whole class calling her grease and greaser. That doesn't bother her, but they pull her hair and push her."

I was mad now.

"How come you didn't tell us?!"

"Don't yell at me! Steve and Two-bit know, too! She didn't want us to say anything, and it's not as bad since Steve threatened them. She's pretty tough on her own, anyway. I think it was all built up, and when he said that about me she snapped. She said she doesn't even remember hitting him."

About that time, a truck honked it's horn at us. Darry pulled over and got out and talked to whoever was inside.

"She's at home, Mikey found her by the old mill."

"The old mill?!"

"Yeah, says she ran there."

We went home, and Steve was sitting on the couch.

"Where is she?"

"Taking a bath. She said her legs were on fire."

I walked up to him.

"How come you didn't tell me people were messing with her at school?"

He shrugged.

"It didn't bother her that bad. It was only that one class, but I took care of it anyway."

Around twenty minutes later, she walked out of the bathroom in pajamas very slowly. She must already be feeling sore. Darry spoke up and pointed to the couch.

"Sit."

She did. No one says no to Darry.

"I understand you were mad about a lot of things, but... You can't lose your cool. Especially not at school."

She nodded. He looked at me and Steve.

"How's her wrist?"

Steve waved a hand.

"A couple of weeks in the brace. Nothing big."

He nodded.

"Go to bed, Cam."

She started to get up, but moaned a little bit.

"Wait."

Pony walked over to her and started squeezing her legs and thighs asking her if it hurt.

"Please stop, Ponyboy! It hurts everywhere!"

"Darry, her left hamstring feels tight. She might've pulled it."

"Okay, so go get her some ice."

She slowly went to her room and Pony took her some ice. We all went to bed and Steve crashed on the couch.

 **Cam POV**

When I woke up the next morning, I realized I hadn't even been in real pain the night before. I felt like I couldn't move my legs were so sore, but it was Friday, so I got up to get ready. Then, I noticed that it was brighter than it should be. I slumped into the living room slowly and saw Sodapop lounging on the couch.

"What time is it?"

"About 9:00."

"I'm late! I have to get ready! Why didn't Darry wake me up?!"

I had a lapse of judgment and started to run to the bathroom. I yelled in pain. Soda laughed at me.

"This isn't funny!"

"You don't have school today."

I looked at him confused.

"What're you talking about? It's Friday."

"The school called this morning. You're suspended."

I groaned.

"Great... Why're you here?"

"I'm off today. How're your legs?"

I glared.

"I'll take that as they hurt like hell."

"This one hurts more back here."

"Pony said he thought you pulled that hamstring. He's gonna make you stretch it when he gets home."

"I can hardly move! How am I suppose to stretch it?!"

He chuckled and shrugged.

"You'll just have to. Why don't you go back to sleep. It's still early, and you need to rest before he gets home."

I happily obliged. Later that day, after Ponyboy had made me do some stretches, I went out on the porch to smoke. He followed me with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, yeah. You hate me now. I hated my coach when it happened to me, too. You'll get over it."

I didn't move around much that day, not that I could anyway. When Darry got home, he looked pissed.

"How's your legs?"

"They hurt."

"Serves you right."

I winced. I'd heard Darry get on to Soda and Pony, but I'd never been in trouble with him before.

"I was about to go wake you up for school when they called. That kid didn't wanna rat you out, but there were plenty of kids around when you did it that spilled."

That confused me. Why didn't Danny wanna rat me out?

"You're suspended on Monday, too, and you're grounded until Tuesday."

That was fine with me. I was too sore to go anywhere.

The soreness seemed even worse the next day. By Monday, it was starting to get better a little bit. A very little bit. I was surprised when I woke up that morning to find Ponyboy in the kitchen.

"What're you doing here?"

"I had a six month check up today for my concussion. Darry said I could just ditch."

"What time was your appointment?"

"It was at 8:30. I just got home."

I looked at the clock in the living room. It was 10:30. He chuckled.

"Can't sleep in tomorrow."

"I know, I know."

"How about we do some stretches?"

I groaned.

"Noooo... They feel a little better this morning."

"Because of the stretching."

"You don't understand half of it. Sitting down is so hard. Getting up is easier."

"Oh, trust me. I understand. I actually run track, remember?"

I let him do the stretches. We goofed around the house that day, just hanging out. At one point, we were talking about Windrixville.

"If it makes you feel any better, I hate Bologna."

He laughed.

"How're your nightmares?"

He shrugged.

"I still have them, but honestly they're better since I talked to you about the whole experience."

I smiled.

"I'm glad I could help."

"How long have you been here?"

"About three months. Why?"

"I know you're Soda's sister, but I feel like you're mine, too."

"Awe, Ponyboy!"

He scowled. I laughed at him.

"I like it here. I really do."

"Do you ever miss Arizona?"

I looked down.

"Of course I do... It's just... I do like being around people. I miss the farm, but it is nice to have friends who can actually talk back."

"I'll bet... Do you need to talk about anything?"

I smiled at him.

"I'm good right now. Thanks, though. You guys really are like brothers to me, though."

"What about Mikey?"

"What about him?"

"He always has him arm around you and stuff. Do you like him?"

"We're gonna talk about boys?"

"I'm just asking cause he _is_ in Shepherd's gang."

"I don't know..."

 **Soda POV**

I had gone home planning on having lunch with Cam and Pony. I was about to open the door when I overheard their conversation.

"How're your nightmares?"

"I still have them, but honestly they're better since I talked to you about the whole experience."

"I'm glad I could help."

"How long have you been here?"

"About three months. Why?"

"I know you're Soda's sister, but I feel like you're mine, too."

"Awe, Ponyboy!"

I fumed back to the DX. After a couple of hours, Steve cornered me.

"Okay, what's up with you? You left your happy go lucky self and came back pissed."

"He told _her_ everything!"

"Who? What're you talking about?"

"Pony! He told Cam everything!"

"I thought that's what you wanted him to do?"

"To me or Darry! Or even you or Two-bit! He's gonna tell some girl he barely knows instead of us?!"

Steve gave me a pointed look.

"That _girl_ is your sister."

"But, Pony's _my_ brother! Not her's! How could he feel more comfortable telling her something I've been dying to know?!"

"I think you're reading too much into this."

"Screw you!"

I walked away from him. I was pissed. Ponyboy was my brother, not some rich girl's that invaded our lives.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Crystal

 **Soda POV**

I had every intention of telling her how I felt, but she wasn't home when I got there, but Darry was.

"Hey, Dar."

"Hey."

He was staring at something.

"What's that?"

"The checks came from the farm and business being sold and from what they already had saved."

He handed them to me.

"Glory, Darry..."

"That's a lot of money..."

"I didn't even know that much money existed..."

He looked like he was thinking really hard.

"My boss is trying to sell his business."

"For how much?"

"Not even half of that."

I eyed him carefully.

"I'm gonna buy it. It was Cam's idea. I'd never use this money without asking her anyway."

"Good for you."

"Good for _us_. We'll never have to worry again, and it's all because of Cam. I'm also gonna get you a truck of your own so you don't have to borrow mine anymore. That was her idea, too. Isn't this great?"

"Yeah, it is..."

I couldn't be mad at her. Not after that. I really couldn't be mad at her when she got home that night. When she walked in with Pony, she completely ignored us and I could tell she'd been crying, but I was still aggravated, so I went back to watching tv. Darry spoke up.

"What's wrong with her, Ponyboy?"

"It's Crystal..."

That got my attention. I turned to look at him.

"What's wrong with Crystal?"

"Colic. They can't get her to walk. She's gonna die..."

I knew what colic was. When I worked at the stables, unless you could get a horse to walk around, it would kill them. Sometimes it would anyway. I sighed.

"Awe, man..."

"We just went to see them since I'd never seen them and we found out... The stable owner told her she'd been looked at by the vet and everything. He was about to call Cam when we showed up. She just held her head until Crystal went to sleep... They said she'll die in the next couple of days, if not sooner..."

I nodded and got up. I didn't need to hear more. I walked to her room and knocked. When there was no answer, I cracked the door.

"Cam...?"

She was lying on her bed facing the other way. I went and sat on the edge of it.

"I'm so sorry..."

She sat up and put her arms around my midsection. I put my arms around her.

"She's all I have left. I can't lose her, Soda. I can't!"

I pushed myself away from her.

"Hey, now. I know this is hard, but she's not all you got left. You've got us, and we're not going anywhere."

She calmed down after a few minutes. Darry poked his head in.

"Supper's ready."

"I'm not hungry. I just wanna go to sleep."

He nodded, and I started to follow him out the door.

"Goodnight."

"Night, Sodapop..."

The next few days went by and she went and saw Crystal everyday. Darry'd bought the business, and his old boss was teaching him how to run it. About five days later, we got the news...

 **Cam POV**

Five days went by, which gave me hope. On that Sunday, I was out with Ryan, Curly, and Mikey when Soda pulled up to Curly's with Steve.

"Hey, Soda."

"Hey, Curly."

He turned to me.

"Darry told me to come get you."

"Why?"

He shrugged.

"No idea."

I said bye to my friends, and we headed towards the house. I didn't say anything while they joked and talked, but I thought I might know why he wanted to talk to me. I was just hoping I was wrong. We walked into the living room, and Darry was in his chair while Pony and Two-bit were on the couch.

"Hey, guys."

"What's going on, Darry?"

"Cam..."

"He called, didn't he..."

I heard my voice crack. Darry looked down.

"I'm sorry, Cam... Crystal died about an hour ago."

I felt myself go limp. Even though I knew it was coming, it hit me hard. I felt myself stumble backwards and Steve stopped me.

"Whoa, are you okay?"

I nodded, even though I wasn't.

"I uh... Think I'm gonna go for a walk."

Soda and Darry exchanged a look. Soda walked up to me.

"Cam, I don't know if that's a good idea..."

Suddenly, I felt crowded. I felt like the walls were closing in. For some reason, I looked at Ponyboy. He jumped up.

"Guys, give her some room."

Everyone looked confused, but backed away. Pony took careful steps towards me holding his hand out.

"Come on."

I took it. He looked at his brothers and they nodded. He led me outside. Once there, away from everyone, he let go of my hand and we just started walking. We walked for a long time, neither saying anything. Somehow, it had gotten pretty dark, and we ended up back at the house. We walked on the porch and Pony handed me a cigarette.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah... How'd you know I needed to get out?"

"That's how I feel when something bad happens. I wanna just get out. I went with you, so you'd end up back here and not lost. That's happened to me before."

We walked in the house. Everyone was in the kitchen eating. I went to my bedroom. A few minutes later, Darry came in.

"Hey, Kiddo. You need to eat something."

"Darry..."

"You've barely eaten in a few days. Just come eat a little bit."

I slowly got up and went to the kitchen. Steve was still there, which meant he was probably crashing here. They were all watching tv. I fixed me a small plate and sat down picking at it.

"Hey."

I looked up to see Soda coming in. He sat down next to me.

"You've gotta eat something..."

I took a bite of the chicken, smiled, then threw the rest away. He sighed.

"Happy now?"

I gave him a look. He nodded. I walked out on the porch and I heard someone following me.

"Soda, not now..."

"Good thing I'm not Soda."

"Steve?"

"Why're you being mean to him? He just wants to help."

I glared at him.

"I don't want any help."

"You wanted it from Ponyboy! Sodapop's just trying to help. He's your brother, and he wants to be there for you."

I looked down. I couldn't help that I'd gotten close to Pony.

"I'll talk to him later. I promise."

After everyone went to bed, I snuck out of my window. I still felt crowded. I didn't know why, but I went to Mikey's. He sat with my for a long time.

"You really loved that horse, huh."

"I did. I've had two other horses before her, but she was special."

"Like you?"

"What?"

I looked at him.

"I've... I've never met a girl like you..."

That made me nervous.

"I need to go home..."

"I'll walk you."

When we got there, he walked around the house with me to my window.

"Thanks..."

"Wait."

He had me against the wall. He started leaning closer.

"Mikey, I..."

He cut me off with a kiss. He pulled away after a minute and smiled.

"See you around."

And with that, he walked away. I was dumbfounded. I finally crawled through my window, when the light came on and scared me half to death.

"Geeze, Soda! What're you doing?!"

"What're you doing?"

I looked down.

"How'd you know I was gone?"

"I didn't. I woke up to pee, and heard talking outside. And _saw_ something else."

My eyes widened.

"It's not what you think..."

"Really, Cam? It's not? Cause it looks like you were sneaking out to be with some white trash bum."

I was shocked that he'd said that.

"Are you serious right now? You're calling _him_ white trash?"

He glared.

"You know they're different than us."

I rolled my eyes.

"They're not so bad! Who are you to say anything?!"

Darry walked in rubbing his eyes.

"What's going on, here?"

Me and Soda were in a glaring match. He spoke up.

"Nothing, Darry. Go back to bed."

"You're yelling at each other. Something's up."

"He just made me mad. I'm sorry, Sodapop."

"It's fine."

Darry looked confused, but nodded.

"Okay, then. Go to bed. Both of you."

He left. I sighed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for not ratting me out..."

"Yeah, whatever..."

He turned to leave.

"Hey, wait."

He turned back to me. I looked out my window.

"I'm sorry. For earlier. My parents used to get mad at me for that a lot. I tend to push people away when I'm upset. I don't know why."

"It's fine. Just... Just go to bed."

I heard the door close. He didn't sound like he'd accepted my apology...


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Blow Ups

 **Cam POV**

A couple of weeks went by, and Soda barely talked to me. I was starting to crumble. Darry took notice, because my grades were starting to dwindle.

"Your teachers are worried about you. They said you made the best grades in the class until a few weeks ago. What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on, Darry!"

"Don't yell at me!"

I crossed my arms and sulked on the couch. Soda walked in about that time.

"You keep this up, and you'll be grounded! You hear me?!"

Soda stopped. He'd never seen Darry yell at me before.

"Like it matters..."

"What'd you say?"

I looked him straight in the eyes.

"Like. It. Matters. Did you hear me that time?!"

Soda's eyes got wide.

"You're one step away from being grounded now! I'm trying to give you a chance before I do it, but keep talking smack, and I will! I dorm know what's gotten into you lately, but you're going to cut it out! You understand?!"

I wanted to scream at him, but didn't say anything else. He nodded.

"Good."

I stared at him though, with cold eyes. He sighed.

"Go cool off. I know you need to."

I nodded and walked out the house. I was actually cooling off and feeling bad for yelling at Darry.

"Hey, Cam!"

I turned to see Mikey. I cursed under my breathe. I'd been avoiding him since he kissed me.

"What's up?"

I gave him half a smile.

"Just cooling off. You?"

"Being bored. Come hang out with me at the park?"

I didn't want to, but I nodded. We were just talking about nothing. I don't even know half of what I was saying. When we got to the park, he turned serious.

"I've been wanting to talk to you for a while."

"About what?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd be my girl."

I looked away. I liked Mikey, I really did, but I knew he was bad news. He might like me, but he'd never really care about me. He liked his rep more.

"I can't, Mikey."

I looked at him. His face turned dark. Something I'd seen him do before, but never at me.

"Why not?"

"You've been in the cooler five times since I've been here."

"So what?"

"I don't want someone who gets in trouble all the time. I like you, but it won't work. I... I already worry about you all the time. I can't... I can't be your girl or it'll only get worse..."

His eyes turned even darker.

"I'm not taking no for an answer, _Cameron_."

I stared at him. He knew I hated being called that.

"Well, that's just too damn bad, _Michael_."

He glared at me.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. You _kissed_ me."

"No, you _forced_ a kiss on _me_. I was trying to tell you to stop before you did it!"

He tried to force himself on me. I was fighting him, but he soon had me on the ground. I started to panic.

"Stop, Mikey! Stop! Help! Please?!"

He put his hand over my mouth.

"Hey, she said stop!"

We both turned our heads to see Soda, Steve, Two-bit, Curly, and Tim. Mikey glared.

"This ain't none of your business!"

Soda stepped closer to us and pointed at me then himself.

"That girl _is_ my business."

Mikey stood up, and I stood up and backed away from him.

"Really? You gonna play big brother now? Cause from what she's told me, you ain't _been_ acting much like one."

He looked back at me. My mouth dropped open and I slapped him. He went to lunge at me, but Tim stopped him by pulling him by his collar.

"Enough!"

"Get off me, Tim!"

Tim shoved him on the ground.

"You know better than to mess with the Curtis gang. Next time, I'll let them pummel you. Understand?!"

Mikey got up and nodded.

"Good. Go to the house, I'll talk to you once I get there."

Mikey stormed off, looking more pissed than I'd ever seen him look. Curly came up to me.

"I'm sorry, Cam. I don't know what came over him."

"It's okay..."

Tim turned to Soda.

"Sorry for causing trouble. I'll let him know not to mess with Cam or you guys. I can _promise_ you that."

Soda nodded and I winced. I knew that meant he'd be getting a beating from Tim and probably Curly. Curly was one of my best friends, and he'd become very protective.

"Thanks Tim."

And with that, Soda grabbed my arm gently and pulled me in the direction of his truck. I was kind of shaken from the whole thing. He helped me in the truck and got in himself.

"How'd you find me?"

"When you didn't come back for a while, I grabbed Steve and Two-bit and we started looking. We ran into the Shepherds, and they offered to help."

"I'm glad they did..."

"Are you okay?"

I didn't say anything or nod. I'd hardly ever been around boys, and though I don't think Mikey would've raped me, he'd scared the hell out of me. Soda sighed as we pulled into the house. I got out and we walked on the porch.

"Wait here."

I nodded. Steve and Two-bit had pulled up and joined me. I looked at them.

"Y'all got a cigarette?"

Steve handed me one and struck a match. I'd never seen him look so pissed. A few minutes later, Soda walked back out and motioned for them to go inside.

"I'm gonna ask again, are you okay?"

I didn't say anything for a minute. When I did speak, it was barely above a whisper.

"He scared me..."

I looked at him.

"Are all boys like that?"

"Huh?"

"When they want you... Are they all..."

He cut me off.

"No no no. Not all boys are like that. None of us would do that if a girl said no."

I nodded. Ponyboy walked up the steps.

"Hey, guys!"

Neither of us said anything.

"What's going on?"

Soda told him the gist of what happened. He walked up to me.

"Are you okay?"

I shook my head as tears fell down my face. I put his arms around me.

"I'm here, just like you were for me..."

 **Soda POV**

"I'm here, just like you were for me..."

Even with the situation at hand, my blood started to boil. I ran over and pushed them apart. Pony started yelling at me.

"What's your problem?!"

I pointed to Cam.

"She is! She's my problem!"

They both stared at me wide eyed. Steve ran out on the porch and grabbed me.

"Soda, now's not the time!"

Pony was staring at me.

"What're you talking about?!"

I shook myself out of Steve's hold.

"How come you told her what went on in Windrixville, huh?! How come?!"

Neither of them said anything. I turned on her.

"Listen here, Cameron! That's _my_ brother! You got that?! He's not your's! He needs to come to me with his problems, not you! He's _my_ family!"

Steve grabbed me, again.

"Sodapop, stop!"

"No. It's fine."

We all turned to look at her. She didn't look sad or scared anymore. She looked hurt. She walked up to me.

"You know what? You're right. He is your brother. How about instead of yelling at me about it, be thankful for it."

That caught me off guard.

"Huh?"

"You think that money has helped me through any of this?"

I was confused. I yelled at her again.

"What're you talking about?!"

"You still have a family! I had nobody when my parents died! You had two brothers and friends who cared about you! I was alone!"

I staggered backwards. I'd heard her ye before, but not like this.

"And while I spent two weeks in that awful girls home with a bunch of girls who were horrible, I found out that I had a brother who's family was willing to take me in! I thought, "Well, maybe I'll have someone who can help me through this," but you never gave me a real chance! Sure, we bonded over horses, but that was all! And now we can't even do that because Crystal died! I'm so sorry that I could confide in Ponyboy, but I couldn't confide in you because I could tell you didn't really want me here in the first place!"

Darry and Two-bit had come out on the porch by this time. Everyone was frozen.

"My parents were murdered when my dad's hardware store was robbed! Do you know how hard that was to find out?! Do you know what that did to me?!"

We all opened our mouths in shock. I stuttered over my words.

"I... I didn't know that they'd been..."

"No! You didn't! I was gonna tell you guys when I got completely comfortable here, and I almost was until you started acting weird around me! I wasn't trying to take your brother away, I was trying to belong somewhere I'm obviously not welcome!"

I still had my keys in my hand. She grabbed them and ran to my truck.

"Cameron, wait!"

But she pulled out of the driveway before I could stop her. We all stood there dumbfounded. I'm not sure how long. Could've been seconds, could've been minutes. Steve startled me when he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Let's go find her, buddy."

I nodded. Darry said he'd follow, and we climbed in our trucks.

"Any idea where she might've gone?"

I wracked my brain for a minute. I thought about what I'd like to do if I got upset.

"She rode her horse when she was upset."

"She tell you that?"

"No, I just know she did."

"But, her horse died a few weeks ago, right?"

"Mine didn't..."

 **Cam POV**

I somehow found myself at the stables, which only made me feel worse. I walked up to Sport's stall.

"I don't care if you don't like me. I need to ride."

I saddled him and he let me. That shocked me. I started running on the trail. The sun was starting to set, and I was going faster than I'd ever gone before. All of the sudden, Sport stopped and bucked me off of him. I opened my eyes for a minute to see Sport standing over me, just like Crystal'd done. He put his nose on my face, and my world went dark.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Sport

 **Soda POV**

We'd pulled up to the stables with Darry, Two-bit, and Ponyboy right behind us and hopped out.

"There's your truck!"

I ran into the stables an went to Sport's stall. It was open.

"Shit! Sport's gone!"

The owner was there.

"Hey, Sodapop."

"Have you seen Cam? I think she took out Sport."

"No, I haven't been here long. You need to find her?"

I nodded. The rest of the gang had come up behind me.

"You can use my horses, but I've only got two."

Steve walked up.

"I know how to ride."

We saddled them quickly and went out on the trail.

"Cam! Cam! Where are you?!"

We rode for a few minutes when I saw Sport come around a curve. Alone with a saddle. Steve looked at me.

"Where is she?"

Sport reared up, grabbing our attention, and bolted.

"Come on!"

We followed him for a good ten minutes before he came to a stop, putting his nose into a bushy area. I hopped down.

"What is it, Sport?"

I walked up to the bushes, and my heart sank.

"Oh, no..."

I knelt down beside her and felt for a pulse. She had one.

"Soda...?"

I looked up to see Steve standing next to me with wide eyes.

"Go back and call and ambulance!"

"If we take her, it'd be faster!"

"She could've broke her neck or back! We can't move her! Just go!"

He nodded and got back on his horse and rode away. I just looked at her and held her hand.

"Please be okay... Dammit, Cameron Elizabeth Mercer, don't leave me! Don't leave me! Please..."

Sport walked up to me and started chewing on my sleeve.

"Dammit, Sport! Why'd you have to hurt her, huh? Why?"

I pushed him away.

 **Darry POV**

"Where are they?!"

Two-bit was pacing, Pony was staring at the trail, and I was leaning against the wall.

"They'll come back, Two-bit."

About that time, we saw Steve bolting out of the woods. The owner looked at me worried. When he got to us, he didn't get off.

"We found her! Something happened, we need help!"

The owner ran inside the barn. There was a phone in there and he called 911. He came back out and looked at Steve.

"You gotta stay here until they get here so you can show them where to go. What happened?"

"We don't know. We found Sport first, he led us to her. She's out cold."

Th owner cursed under his breathe.

"Why'd she take out that damn horse in the first place? She knows the only person that horse likes is Sodapop!"

We waited for a while, finally, we heard sirens.

 **Soda POV**

"Dammit, where are they?!"

I was getting impatient. Finally, I heard something and saw Darry's truck with paramedics in the back. They hopped out before the truck even stopped.

"Step back, son."

I listened. I walked over to Darry.

"Why are y'all in your truck?"

"The ambulance was too big to fit down the trail. My truck barely did."

We watched them look over her. They moved her head slowly, and put a neck brace around it. They then loaded her up on a backboard and put her in the back of Darry's truck.

"She's stable, so we need to take it nice and slow back to the stables."

He looked at me.

"The owner said he'd come get the horses later."

We nodded and hopped in the front of the truck. It felt like forever before we were able to get back. They loaded her onto the ambulance.

"We can't let anyone ride because we have to assess her injuries further. You can follow behind, though."

 **Darry POV**

We were in the waiting room, and had been for hours.

"What happened, Darry?"

I turned to see Brenda.

"She fell off her horse."

She sighed in relief. I glared.

"Oh, no! I didn't! It's just something that..."

"It means she won't be taken away, Darry."

I turned to see Soda. Brenda nodded.

"Exactly. I was just happy that it was something like that..."

I nodded. I didn't know what to think. Ponyboy hadn't said one word since she'd left the house. I saw Soda sit next to him, talking to him calmly.

"They need to work out their issues..."

"I know, Steve. I know..."

 **Soda POV**

I looked over and saw Pony with his head in his hands. Had he talked since we'd been here? I couldn't remember. I walked over to him and sat down.

"Ponyboy..."

"Don't..."

"Hey, it's gonna be okay..."

"I should've just told you... If I'd just told you what you freaking wanted to know, then we'd all be back at the house right now..."

"No, Pony, don't talk like that."

"Why does this always happen? I fall asleep in the lot, Darry hits me. I talk back to the Socs, Johnny kills one saving me. I run into a burning building cause I can't live with those kids dying if we started it, and Johnny dies from helping. Johnny dies from helping, and Dally kills himself cause he can't take it. I tell Cam instead of you about Windrixville, you both blow up and she's hurt. Do you see a patter here? I can't do anything right, dammit!"

He was rambling on and on. I finally put my arms around him.

"Shut up! None of that was your fault. This isn't your fault. This is my fault cause I thought she was taking you away from me..."

He looked at me.

"I didn't tell you everything that happened, because it would've hit you hard like it did me. I'm still suffering from it, I don't need you suffering from it, too! I just want you to be there for me! Especially at night..."

"But, why did you tell her?"

"Because she wasn't here... She didn't know Johnny and Dally... Of course it made her sad and she cried with me, but it didn't destroy her because she didn't have to live through it. We all had to live through it in one way or another. You guys were on this side and I never asked how hard it was... I don't need to know..."

I was starting to get it. Pony needed me, and if he'd told me, it would've killed me and neither of us would've done the other any good. I wrapped my arms around him.

"I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry... It's all my fault."

"Stop it. It's no one's fault."

We both looked up to see Two-bit.

"Everyone's made mistakes in this. We could all take the blame one way or another. Steve could've let Pony go with y'all, I could have stayed with you guys that night instead of leaving you at the lot, Darry could've controlled his temper when you got home late, Soda could've chased after you, Johnny could've made you go home the second you told him what happened, Dally could've convinced you guys to turn yourselves in and tell the truth. Every single one of us did something, that doesn't mean it's anyone's fault. It's life."

He sat next to Ponyboy.

"Listen Pony, I do think it's time you talk about it. With all of us, but it's your choice. I just know it's eating you alive. And Soda, if he doesn't tell us, you gotta get over it. If he wants to tell Cam, let him tell her. At least then he's told someone."

I thought about that for a minute. Pony hadn't been running into things or having as many nightmares lately. Instead of looking at that and being happy with it, I was mad that he'd told someone else instead of me. I felt ashamed of that.

 **Darry POV**

Around 3:00 in the morning, all the guys were asleep. Although, I wouldn't call it a peaceful sleep.

"Darrel Curtis?"

I jumped up.

"That's me."

"I'm Dr. Anderson."

"Is Cam alright?"

He smiled.

"She'll be fine. She has a major concussion, a broken arm, a few broken ribs, and a sprained ankle. With so many injuries, I'd say she was bucked into a tree and twisted her ankle when she landed. She's lucky."

"Lucky?"

"I've seen that happen before and people come out paralyzed. She's lucky because she didn't hurt her spine."

"Is she awake?"

"No, and I doubt she will be for a couple of days, but she will be okay. You and your friends can go to her room, but only for a few minutes. Then go home, you all look like you could use some sleep yourselves."

He chuckled at the sight of the boys sprawled across the living room. I nodded and went to wake everyone up.

"Dar?"

"Yeah, little buddy. You wanna see Cam?"

Soda hopped up, hitting Pony in the head with his foot.

"Ow!"

That woke up the other two.

"Come on, you guys. We can see her for a few minutes."

"Is she awake?"

"No, Soda. But she'll wake up, soon."

We all followed the doctor to her room.

"Five minutes, guys."

We walked in, but no one moved for a minute. Finally, Pony took a step forward.

"You'll be okay, Cam... We're all here. We _all_ care about you."

That was Soda's cue.

"Yeah. We all care about you... We'll... We'll see you, soon..."

We left after a few minutes. Everyone stayed at our house, it was almost 5:00 in the morning anyway.

"Darry?"

"Yeah, Pone?"

"Do I... Do I have to go to school today?"

"No, go get some sleep."

He nodded and went to his room with Soda. I poke my head in, and they were both sleeping with Soda's arm around Pony. That made me smile.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Trouble

 **Cam POV**

I was confused. I opened my eyes, and the light hurt my head, so I shut my eyes and groaned. I waited a minute and opened my eyes again, squinting so the light wouldn't hurt. Everything was white. I looked to my right, and saw Soda sleeping in a chair. The fight came back to me, somewhat. It was the last thing I remembered, but I wasn't mad anymore. I don't even know what it was about, but I knew we'd both get over it, I just wished I knew where I was.

"Soda?"

He stirred, but didn't wake up.

"Sodapop."

He opened his eyes. After a second he shot up.

"Cameron?"

I winced.

"Please don't call me that..."

He smiled at me and sat on the edge of the bed.

"You had us a little worried."

"Why?"

"You don't remember anything?"

The light was getting unbearable. I shut my eyes again.

"It's too bright in here."

I felt him get up and walk across the room.

"That better?"

I opened my eyes and looked around the room. A hospital room? Why was I in a hospital? My eyes landed on Soda coming back from the window. He'd closed the blinds.

"Yeah. That's better..."

"What do you remember?"

I didn't wanna say it, but I had to know what happened.

"Fighting with you..."

"Cam, about that..."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not... I... You didn't do anything wrong. I'm glad you and Pony are close. He's been a lot better since you came here."

I smiled at him. So, the fight was about Ponyboy.

"I'm sorry... You're right, I never gave you a fair chance..."

"Well, how about we start over? A clean slate."

He smiled.

"Sounds good."

I tried to move my arm to shake hands, but it didn't move. I realized it was in a cast. I looked up at him wide eyed.

"You don't remember stealing my truck?"

I thought really hard, but I didn't.

"I... I don't even really remember the fight, just that we had one."

"Well, you stole my truck and went to the stables. You rode Sport, and you..."

"Wait! I rode _Sport_?! You've got to be kidding me, I'd never be stupid enough to try and ride that damn horse!"

He smirked.

"Considering you're lying in a hospital bed, I'd say you were."

"I... I'm confused..."

"He bucked you off. You hit a tree."

I nodded trying to remember, but all that did was make me tired.

"I feel sleepy..."

"Wait..."

He pressed a button, and a nurse came in.

"Oh! You're finally awake! I'll get Dr. Anderson."

A few minutes later a doctor walked in. Everything was kind of fuzzy and I drifted off to sleep while he was talking. When I woke up again, I was in my own bed. My door was open.

"Hello?"

My voice was strained, but someone had heard me because I heard footsteps. Pony ran into the room.

"You okay?"

I looked at him confused.

"Did I dream that?"

"Dream what?"

Oops... I'd said my thoughts out loud. He looked concerned.

"I... I thought I was in the hospital."

He sighed with relief.

"You were. The doctor let us bring you home this morning since you woke up."

"How long had I slept?"

"Four days. You gotta concussion."

"From Sport?"

"From a tree, but Sport was the cause."

"I'm having someone come look at him tomorrow."

Soda was standing in the doorway.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm selling him."

"Why are you selling him?!"

He looked at me like I was stupid.

"He hurt you."

"That's my own fault. I knew better than to ride him. He'd never hurt you."

"That's not the point."

"Sodapop, do you love that horse?"

He shrugged.

"I _did_."

"Bullshit. That horse is your's. Besides, if you sell him he could hurt someone else. Don't sell him, please? My dad loved that horse, and you do, too..."

I was trying to finish whatever it was I was trying to say, but couldn't because I was starting to tear up. He ran over.

"Hey, don't cry. Okay, I won't sell him. I won't..."

The next day was Saturday, but it didn't matter. I couldn't go to school for two weeks since my concussion was pretty bad.

"Hey, someone wants to see you, but I won't let them if you don't want them to."

"Who is it?"

"It's Mikey."

I felt the blood drain from my face as the memory came back. I'd forgotten about that.

"I'll.. I'll see him..."

"Cam, you don't..."

"If I don't now, I'll be too scared to later. Just let him in."

Pony nodded. A minute later, he walked in the room, but didn't come near me.

"Hey..."

"Hey, Mikey."

"I'm glad you're okay... When I'd heard you'd fell off a horse, it scared me..."

I scoffed.

"It did, huh."

He looked down.

"I don't remember that night..."

I gave him a confused look.

"The last thing I remember that day was talking to one of my friends about how much I liked you and wanted to tell you. They gave me some kind of pill, telling me it'd relax me where I could talk to you. That's... That's all I can remember..."

"Mikey..."

"Curly told me everything. You don't wanna be my girl? That's okay. You're one of my best friends, I never meant to hurt you..."

"No more drugs?"

"No more drugs."

We talked for a few minutes, and then he left.

"What'd he want?"

"To apologize."

Pony nodded and sat next to me.

"I'm glad you're home."

I smiled.

"I am, too, Pony."

I knew it'd be a long two weeks, and I wanted to go back to school, but I was so sleepy it didn't matter. I was ready for things to just go back to normal... But, nothing about this was normal... All of the sudden, I just wanted my parents... I wanted them back...

 **Steve POV**

Ever since she got back from the hospital, her and Soda talked all the time. When she went back to school, she was happy, but I had a weird feeling. She had this weird look in her eyes. I don't know how to explain it, but he saw it, too.

"She's talking to us and everything, but..."

"She's shutting down, Sodapop. You know that. She was doing it before, too."

"I get why she was before, but why now? We're getting along. I don't get it."

I didn't either, but we couldn't make her talk. A couple of weeks later, she never came home from school. By that night, we were all out looking. Soda panicked and had gone to the stables, but Sport was still there. I was driving east, almost out of town, when I saw someone walking down the road. The closer I got, I realized who it was. I pulled over and hopped out of my truck.

"What are you doing?!"

She stopped and slowly turned around, just standing there.

"Well?!"

She didn't say anything. I sighed.

"Come on."

She got in the truck, but something was off. When we got back to the house, no one was there. It was when we walked up on the porch and into the light, that I could really see her. My eyes widened. She walked into the house, numbly. She hadn't said a word. She started to head towards her room, when I pulled her back into the living room and threw her on the couch.

"What the hell, Cam?"

She looked up at me.

"What?"

Her voice was off.

"Don't 'what' me. What're you on?"

Her eyes were red and glassy.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

She was saying it real slow and there was no emotion in her voice. Pony walked in with Two-bit, and they both went and hugged her when they saw her. Pony looked at her confused when she didn't look back.

"Are you okay?"

"M'okay..."

When he heard how different she sounded, he stood up and got a good look at her. Two-bit did the same and whistled.

"Glory, kid! What'd you do?"

I looked at him.

"I asked her the same thing. Says she don't know what I'm talking about."

Pony crouched in front of her and grabbed her chin, getting a better look at her eyes. It was like she was looking right through him instead of at him.

"Why in the _hell_ would you do something like this?"

"Darry's gonna blow a gasket."

"I ain't done anything."

Pony looked at me. I shrugged.

"She ain't fighting. You know she's on something."

"Where'd you find her?"

"Almost out of town. On the east side."

Two-bit grabbed her arms and looked at them.

"No track marks, and she don't smell like weed or booze."

"Which means you took something. What'd you take?"

"I ain't done nothing."

We kept trying to get it out of her for thirty minutes and we were getting frustrated. Darry and Soda walked in the door and we froze. It didn't take long for Two-bit to spill the beans. Darry walked over to her and we all grimaced thinking about what he'd do.

"Come here."

He grabbed her arm and helped her up, looking in her eyes. He turned away from her.

"Put her to bed."

Pony looked at him. Shocked. We all were. He nodded and took her to her room. When he came back, I yelled at him.

"You're gonna let her off the hook?! Really?!"

"Shut up, Steve!"

He ran his hands over his face and sat down on the couch.

"Listen, I wanna yell at her, and I will. Oh trust me, I will. But, there's no point doing it tonight. She's not all here, and I'd just have to do it again."

He looked around at everyone in the room.

"No one's going to school or work in the morning. We're gonna get some answers."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen:

 **Cam POV**

I woke up and I was in my bedroom, having no idea how I'd gotten there. I slowly got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen, and everybody was there.

"Look who's up."

"What time is it?"

Darry looked at his watch.

"About 10:30."

Everybody looked uncomfortable. Darry stood up.

"Everyone in the living room."

We all settled in there, and I noticed everybody staring at me.

"Okay, we need answers."

I wracked my brain. Then, I remembered.

"Shit..."

"What'd you take?"

I looked down.

"I... I don't know..."

Steve got angry.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

I winced.

"They just said it'd help me forget everything for a little while."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"Being at Mike..."

Crap. Soda got up and dialed a number. No one said anything else, and then Tim walked in. They told him what I had. He shook his head.

"Don't know what he would've gave her. Curly wasn't involved was he?"

I shook my head. Curly may get drunk sometimes, but he doesn't do drugs.

"I'll go get Mikey and bring him here."

Tim left after that. Darry ran his hands down his face.

"Steve found you almost out of town on the east side walked down the side of the road."

That explained why my legs hurt.

"What were you thinking?"

"See wasn't."

That came from Two-bit. He sighed.

"Look, Cam. We all have pretty hard lives. It's why I drink, it's why Steve's bitter, it's why Darry had to grow up too fast. But, none of us have ever turned to drugs. You can't, either."

I looked down. You know you've done something bad when Two-bit gets serious. Soda spoke up.

"We know about how your parents died."

My head shot up. Everyone else looked at him confused. He shrugged.

"She doesn't remember our fight. Just that we had one."

He was right. I didn't know I had told them anything. I took a deep breathe.

"My parents were great people. Their names were John and Cynthia. They tried for years to have kids. I thought they had me. I didn't know I was adopted."

Everyone gave me sympathetic looks.

"We mostly all three stayed at the farm. My dad hardly went to the store at all. We woke up early, I did my chores, my mom homeschooled me. I loved that life... The day it happened, my dad got called in because there was a delivery mix up. My mom decided to go with him. They asked if I wanted to go, but since I wasn't around people that much, I didn't go. They were gone for hours. The later it got, the more worried I got. I had tried to call the store, but no one ever picked up. I was about to call the police station when a cop car pulled into the yard. He told me that my parents had fixed the delivery problem and were about to walk out of the store when two guys came in with guns and just shot... Shot everybody..."

I was crying, but I didn't stop explaining.

"The girls home was awful. It was supposedly the best in the state. The girls were mean, the staff didn't care about us. I just remember wishing I'd went with them so that..."

Soda came over and hugged me.

"Don't think that way. Please..."

Time brought Mikey, who said he didn't know what the pill was. Tim was pissed. When they left, Darry said I couldn't talk to him anymore.

As the weeks went on, things got better. I finally looked at Sodapop as my brother, and I loved the gang like a family. If always miss my folks, but I gained something, too. I had brothers, and I wasn't letting them go.

 **Author's note: This is the last chapter. I'll be honest, I don't like this story. I liked the idea, but absolutely nothing was working, so I ended it. I hope it didn't disappoint you too much and I promise to do better on my next story. The only reason I finished it, was because I made a promise to myself that I would never not finish a story. Thanks, you guys.**


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